We're Hot and Unbothered

Working a summer job many years
ago on a crew of a county road
repair department was my first
full-time outdoor employment. Flagging
for our paving machines and dump trucks
that first day was a brutal education, but
not because of the pace, the dust, the heat,
or the toil. It was rough because I hadn’t
known to bring my own jug of water. On
Day Two and every work day thereafter, I
was much better prepared.

Effective preparation is the key to prevent
heat illnesses. Lots of factors can
make some people vulnerable—physical
condition, medications, choice of clothing,
excessive use of alcohol or drugs, and
more. And the ambient temperature
doesn’t have to reach triple digits for a
worker to get in trouble.

Physically fit workers adapt to hot conditions
and become acclimatized faster
than out-of-shape workers do. While full
acclimatization may take up to three weeks
of continued physical activity in the hot
environment, acclimatization is quickly
lost, and a small percentage of workers
never will become acclimatized, according
to “Working in the Heat,” a 2007 Workplace
Health and Safety Bulletin from the
Government of Alberta Employment,
Immigration and Industry that is an excellent
tutorial on this topic.

“Fluids should be located at or near
where the work is being done,” the document
states. “Workers should be able to get
a drink at any time during the workday
without going too far from their work area.
In some cases a portable hydration system
may be helpful. Looking like a small backpack,
it can hold up to four litres of fluid
and is worn on the back. The wearer takes
a drink using the attached long drinking
tube and mouthpiece. As a rough guide,
workers working under hot conditions
should drink approximately 250 ml (1 cup)
of fluid every 20 minutes.

“Salt pills are rarely required and their
use is not recommended (a person can have
too much salt). The normal salt content of
the diet, including salt as a seasoning, is
usually enough to replace salt lost through
sweating. If salt replacement is a concern,
try one of the electrolyte replacement
drinks diluted to half strength with water.”

Thirst quenchers are popular pretty
much everywhere workers are sweating in
the heat, said Mike Dalton, marketing
manager for Sqwincher Corp. of
Columbus, Miss. The company sells its
products in the United States, Canada,
Mexico, Costa Rica, New Zealand, and
Australia, and it had been selling them in
South Africa but lost its distributor there,
he said, adding that Sqwincher chose those
locales because of the similarity in their
industrial workplaces.

Sugar-free thirst quenchers are a popular
item these days (“We’re trying to
attack the diabetes issue in the workplace,”
said Dalton), and 3-ounce freezer pops in
cherry, grape, orange, lemon-lime, and
mixed berry flavors became highly popular
roughly four years ago and are going
strong, he said. “Steel mills, welding—it
seems to be highly popular because they
can’t keep water stations local, and they
wear so much PPE.”

The freezer pops taste a bit sweeter
than the drinks and have a higher electrolyte
volume than the same amount of
liquid quencher, but otherwise the formulation
of the two is the same, Dalton said.

Engineering and Administrative Controls
Engineering controls useful in hot conditions
include general ventilation, spot
cooling, shielding from radiant heat
sources, cooling fans, mechanical refrigeration, and powered equipment to eliminate
manual tasks where possible. Administrative
controls include providing exposed
workers with plenty of drinking fluids,
alternating work with longer rest periods in
cool areas, scheduling the most strenuous
work for cooler periods of the day, and
rotating tasks.

Training for hot conditions includes
educating workers to recognize and report
heat stress disorders before they become
serious. Supervisors should consider
workers’ physical condition when determining
their fitness to work in hot environments,
and they should be trained to notice
heat stress symptoms and to allow workers
to take a break if they become uncomfortable.
Employees should be educated about
heat illnesses and the necessity of fluid
replenishment. They should be able to recognize
dehydration, fainting, heat cramps,
heat exhaustion, and heat stroke. Some
experts recommend advising workers of the
importance of daily weighing before and
after work to avoid dehydration.

Someone whose heart rate reaches 127
per minute should work for no longer than
one hour without a rest period during
which the rate returns to 60-80 per minute,
while a rate of 145 means you should work
for no more than 15 minutes without a
break, Reese and Eidson write.

Heat-Related Health Problems
Heat stroke, the most serious health
problem, occurs when the body’s temperature
regulatory system fails and sweating
becomes inadequate. Body temperature
may reach 105 degrees Fahrenheit or
more. The victim’s skin is dry and hot; he
may be confused and may experience convulsions
or lapse into unconsciousness.
Prompt, appropriate treatment is essential.

Heat exhaustion happens when someone
loses a lot of fluid by sweating. He still
sweats but may be fatigued, giddy, or nauseous.
His skin is clammy and moist, with
body temperature normal or slightly elevated.
Treatment usually involves having
him rest in a cool place and drink plenty of
liquids.

Heat cramps are muscle spasms that
may be felt by workers who sweat profusely
and drink large quantities of water but do
not adequately replace salt loss.

Heat rash can occur in hot, humid environments
where sweat is not easily
removed from the surface of the skin by
evaporation and the skin remains wet most
of the time. A skin rash results because the
sweat ducts become clogged.

This article originally appeared in the May 2008 issue of Occupational Health & Safety.

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